Diet dilemma

Wednesday

Aug 6, 2008 at 3:00 PM

How many of us have for decades worried and watched our diets very carefully and followed the “dietary dogma de jour?” Many of us have run our daily lives based on assurances of so-called nutritional scientific gospel. Unfortunately, the data is all over the place regarding the best diet for weight loss, cancer prevention or for good heart health. Cherry picking of the data can allow someone to support or refute nearly any point of view. Recent studies demonstrate the misinformation and confusion concerning miracle diets and how we have been misled. Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, said if you’re wondering whether Dean Ornish’s low-fat diet will help you shed pounds better than Dr. Atkins’ low-carb menu, the answer is simple: it doesn’t matter. The Ornish diet is a brutal, miserable, total-vegetarian regime and the Atkins’ diet (low-carb, high fat) was the focus of extreme criticism and ridicule by the medical establishment for decades. Willett says, “In terms of weight loss, low-fat diets and low-carb diets overall are equally effective and, most of the time, neither will help you keep weight off long-term.” We’ve now looked at over 250,000 men and women for up to 30 years, and we haven’t seen that the percentage of calories from fat or from carbohydrates in your diet makes any difference in relation to heart attacks, various cancers or stroke. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute found that starting a low-fat diet in mid-life does not, by itself, decrease a woman’s risk of heart disease or stroke or dramatically reduce her risk of breast or colorectal cancer, according to three studies of almost 50,000 healthy, post-menopausal women.

In the America that I love, it is becoming abundantly clear that there is no wonder diet and that we must interpret the written-in-stone guidelines on nutrition with common sense and caution. Unfortunately, many of us have introduced significant stress into our everyday lives regarding our eating habits. Have we unjustifiably denied ourselves great tasting foods because of nutritional nonsense? The answer, at this point in our ignorance, is that “we just do not know.” So, avoid dietary extremes, emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables in moderate portions and exercise regularly.